


Two of Cups

by sadwolf



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Magic Shop, Tarot, Werewolf Derek Hale, Witch Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadwolf/pseuds/sadwolf
Summary: Stiles placed his long fingers beneath the final card. “This card represents the relationship you have or,” he paused and trailed his eyes slowly up to meet Derek’s, “Might soon have, with the person of your affections. It shows a deep connection between two hearts of similar energies, an intense and exciting emotional attachment, the blossoming of something new between two people.”
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 11
Kudos: 328





	Two of Cups

**Author's Note:**

> hello and happy full moon! hope you enjoy this. the tarot deck in this fic is the naked heart tarot by jillian c wilde

The rain was pouring, absolutely drenching Derek. He was already feeling terrible since he had woken up that morning and gotten in late to work, without time for coffee--all the more upsetting since he worked at a coffee shop--and then had to deal with a customer who had insisted Derek had foamed the milk wrong, whatever that meant. Derek had apologized anyway, but the customer had asked to speak to his manager, and so Laura had to calm the man down. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, but it still made Derek feel like shit. 

He just wanted to go to the tiny magic shop that had opened about a month ago and stock up on some soothing tea, then go home to his loft and relax.

The magic shop,  _ Foxglove _ , was the hottest new buzz in the supernatural community. It was owned by a twenty-something witch named Stiles who was charismatic and alluring, with bright amber eyes and a constellation of moles across his face. He was always kind to his customers and gesticulated wildly when he got immersed in a conversation. Derek was not immune to his charms.

Besides having a charming owner,  _ Foxglove _ had gained a reputation of always having just what the customer needed on any given day, which Derek knew was a sign of wholesome and powerful magic at work. The shelves were stocked with oddities that were never the same from visit to visit, although some items, like the teas and crystals and certain protective charms, were always in stock. Those were kept along the wall in the back, where the scent of magic was slightly less overpowering.

Derek loved the little shop and was eager to arrive there and see Stiles. He hadn’t been able to find time to visit in about a week. He only hoped it was open--the shop kept very irregular hours and could be opened or closed at a moment’s notice.

The sky had been overcast all day but by the time he was halfway to  _ Foxglove _ , it was pouring. Derek hadn’t thought to bring an umbrella and he was soaked by the time he made it to the shop, relieved to see the faint golden glow of the lights on through the front window as he approached, as well as the wooden sign scrawled with  _ Open  _ on the door.

He pushed open the door and wiped off his shoes on the doormat inside, feeling instantly soothed by the inside ambiance. He recognized the song playing softly on the store playlist as  _ Lavender Moon  _ by Haroula Rose. 

As he walked further inside he saw a weathered grimoire on the table in front of him, so heavy with magic it was difficult to look directly at it with his astute werewolf sensibilities. Beside it on the left was a deck of playing cards decorated with handpainted ravens on the back. Their beady eyes pierced into Derek as their sharp beaks swirled around each other. To the right of the grimoire was a small bowl of fine purple crystalline powder. 

Derek knew that soon, these three items would be sold to the people they were meant for. But none of them were him.

He wandered to the back, his heart pounding with the thrum of electric magic that he always felt in the shop, and browsed the teas. There didn’t seem to be any other customers, and he didn’t know where Stiles was either. He looked through the jasmine and chamomile, the passionfruit and lemon, trying to decide what kind of tea he was in the mood for.

“Hey, Derek.”

Derek startled slightly, almost dropping the peppermint tea box he was holding as he smiled back at the man who had greeted him.

“Stiles, hi,” he said back. The witch had his distracting hands tucked away in the pockets of the hoodie he usually wore, and he leaned back slightly, casually.

“What are you here for today?” Stiles asked, pulling Derek from his thoughts.

“Tea,” Derek replied, lifting up the box in his hand.

Stiles gave a noncommittal hum, narrowing his eyes slightly. “I think you’re here for more than that,” he said cryptically. Derek froze, eyes wide. Could Stiles sense his interest in him? Maybe Derek had been coming to the shop too often. And he did usually end up buying just tea. How much tea could one man drink? Of course Stiles would catch on.

“...Am I?”

Stiles nodded, walking behind the counter at the side of the room. He opened a door that Derek had somehow never noticed before and disappeared for a few moments, then peeked his head out again. “Come on back,” Stiles said with a warm grin.

Derek only hesitated a moment before he followed the witch into the back room of his shop. He was greeted with what appeared to be a studio apartment, where he assumed Stiles lived. He had no idea the other man lived where he worked. 

There was a queen-sized bed against the far wall with a plush galaxy comforter, the walls were a soothing dark gray and there were several plants coiling up the wall to the left, reaching toward a wide window, below which was a dark wooden table with two seats across from each other. A kitchenette took up the right wall, with a fridge and sink and microwave, and a stove with two hotplates, with one holding a tea kettle.

A small black bag that appeared to be velvet rested on the table. Stiles leaned against the table and picked it up, looking at Derek calculatingly. “Have you ever had a tarot reading?”

Derek blinked. He also realized in that moment that he seemed to be completely dried from the rain outside, though it was still pouring against the window, the ambient gray lighting drifting into the room. He shook his head to answer the question. Stiles gave another noncommittal hum, though he didn’t seem surprised by this answer. “Would you like one?” he asked.

Derek blinked again. He was a little nervous about what the cards might reveal about himself, his future...his feelings. But he trusted Stiles, and he knew the witch’s magic wouldn’t hurt him. So he gave a nod and a smile that he hoped didn’t look too much like a grimace.

Stiles sat in the chair furthest from the door, and gestured for Derek to take the remaining seat. Derek complied, folding his hands on the table in front of him while Stiles took the cards out of the bag with the practiced and delicate touch of his long fingers. Derek could only see the back of the cards, which showed a geometric lattice pattern and a moth on either end of the card.

“I have other decks, but I feel like this one will speak to you best. It has a lot of nature imagery I think you’d like,” Stiles made conversation, grinning, “Speak to your inner wolf.”

Derek huffed out a laugh, ducking his head slightly. He could feel that electrical magic hum from Stiles’s fingertips as he shuffled the cards. “What question should I ask?”

“Depends on what you want to know. Usually, the cards will show you what your subconscious was trying to tell you about something all along. Sometimes you don’t even need a question.”

Derek looked down at his hands on the table. He knew what he wanted to ask about. He wanted to know if he and Stiles would ever get together, or if his pining was useless. He didn’t know if he was brave enough to ask that though. Not in front of Stiles himself.

A few moments passed, the sound of the rain pattering and the soft rustling of the shuffling cards filling the room. Derek looked back up to see those golden honeydrop eyes sparkling at him with interest before Stiles glanced back down at the cards.

“You don’t have to tell me what your question is, either,” Stiles said, a little softer now, “The cards will know.” He stopped his shuffling and placed the deck on the table, halfway between the two of them. “Please, cut the deck, Derek. Wherever it feels right.”

Derek took a breath in, and let it out slowly, then reached forward and gently took half of the pile of the deck and set it to the side. The halves were slightly uneven. “Good,” Stiles encouraged, then placed the bottom half back on top of the upper half. Stiles placed his hand atop the deck and then looked up at Derek again. “Ready?”

Derek nodded, his heart pounding. He wondered how much Stiles would be able to tell about him from this, what his soul would lay bare from that brush of his fingers against the cards.

Stiles drew three cards, revealing nothing in his expression as he placed each one on the table.

Silence pervaded the room for several long moments as Stiles considered the cards before him. Derek could feel the electricity of magic, still heavy in the air between them. He tried not to feel too nervous about seeing the Devil as one of the cards, and hoped it didn’t mean anything too terrible. He felt warmth from the middle card, though he had no idea what it meant, and the last card made him feel a visceral passion.

“Oh, Derek,” Stiles’s voice cut through Derek’s thoughts, making him jump slightly even though it was quite soft. Derek slid his gaze from the cards on the table to those bright eyes, absorbing their fondness. They watched each other for a few moments more before Stiles continued, placing his palm just below the first card, the one that worried Derek--the Devil.

“There are no inherently bad or evil cards in a tarot deck. I know seeing a card like this, or Death, can be striking, but don’t let it worry you. Though in this particular case, it does represent a sense of struggle.” His gaze trailed back down to the card, to look at the depicted goat’s skull, the arms reaching out in many directions, the horns reaching towards the Capricorn symbol in the stars. “This card, in this reading, is how you view yourself. You see yourself as a much darker soul than perhaps many others view you, and you struggle with your desires. You see yourself as dampened by temptation.” Stiles looked back at Derek, who darted his eyes away from the card to look up at Stiles at the movement. Stiles’s expression was still so gentle. Derek didn’t want to think about what his own face was telling. 

“The card urges you to embrace your desires, your inner feelings, your deep thoughts. Don’t shy away from what your intuition tells you, and don’t be hard on yourself. Trust yourself and let hope guide you toward your goals.” Stiles smiled gently, and Derek felt his lips tilt upward in response. They shared another quiet moment before Stiles placed his hand below the middle card.

“This card,” Stiles began, and Derek examined the card, the Mother of Wands, noticing the fox peeking playfully among the uncolored sunflowers, the singular wand that seemed powerful on its own, and the Aries symbol dancing in the petals. It reminded him of Stiles, somehow, strong, and curious, and wise. “Represents how you view...the person who holds your affections.” Derek’s gaze shot up to meet Stiles’s, but the witch was examining the card. Derek’s heart pounded rapidly.

“This person is, in your eyes, confident, magnetic, and can light up an entire room. Very creative.” Stiles still had his eyes glued to the card, but his lips twitched playfully into a grin. “Magical, even.” There was no way Stiles didn’t know exactly who this person was. Derek was beginning to think these cards were revealing way too much about himself. He was dreading what the final card would say, despite how beautiful it looked.

The card, the Two of Cups, showed two hearts entwined across a single artery, each one colored a vivid red, the only color in the image. They were each held in a cup, upon which was depicted a small wave. It was beautiful and calming, yet thrilling, passionate, visceral, all at once, and it called to something deep within Derek, like it called to his very wolf. 

Stiles placed his long fingers beneath the final card. “This card represents the relationship you have or,” he paused and trailed his eyes slowly up to meet Derek’s, “Might soon have, with the person of your affections. It shows a deep connection between two hearts of similar energies, an intense and exciting emotional attachment, the blossoming of something new between two people.” Stiles actually had a slight blush on his face now, a tiny dip of rose on his lily face, and Derek felt heat rising in his own face as well.

The witch cleared his voice after a few beats, then looked to the cards again. “What this all means, what the cards are telling you, is to take a step forward towards a new relationship with someone. Be brave, embrace your desires, toward someone who...probably already feels the same way towards you. And it will be the start of an amazing new relationship.” Stiles’s face was definitely red now, a fully bloomed rose.

The rain continued to patter on the windowpanes while Derek looked at Stiles, who looked steadily back.

Derek then broke into a wide smile, standing from the table and crossing the room to stand in front of Stiles. “The cards never lie, right?” he asked. Stiles smiled softly back and shook his head, rising from his own chair, standing at a height with Derek.

“Then...can I kiss you?” Derek asked, taking Stiles’s hands into his own. His heart was beating so quickly and he was still so nervous, but Stiles had basically confirmed that his feelings were returned, with the help of a beautiful deck of tarot cards, and a spark of magic.

Stiles just leaned forward and kissed Derek first, the press of his soft lips so warm in the cool room, electrifying with magic and the jolt of excitement that came from touching the other man. Derek pressed forward slightly, deeper, and their lips parted in a breath of desire. The rain pounded on the windows, harsh and quick, so cold, in clash with the warmth of the pair of them.

When they came apart, Derek’s eyes slipping open, having closed at some point, he took in a deep breath, feeling soothed for the first time in recent memory. His hands still held gently to Stiles’s, and he felt a warmth spreading deep within him. He felt...content. This felt so right.

“Thank you for opening your heart to me,” Stiles spoke quietly, barely above the sound of the raindrops, “To the cards. I know you’re not as fond of magic as I am, although...you do seem to like tea.” Stiles grinned with a glint in his eye, and Derek ducked his head slightly, which caused Stiles to let out a glorious, musical laugh.

“I like tea as long as it’s from your shop,” Derek said, and Stiles pressed his forehead against Derek’s lovingly, so they shared a breath of space.

“You can come to my shop as often as you’d like.”

“I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

Derek knew the cards were right, and this was the start of something wonderful. He and Stiles were two hearts of one kind.


End file.
